No: 17264 Friday, June 23, 2017

L i f e s t y l e

FRIDAY, JUNE 23, 2017

O

n a hot summer day in her small living

room a fan blows in Aya's direction as

she carefully parts each section of her 9-

year-old client's hair, blow-drying it with proper

technique, confidence and newly found pride.

Aya is one of more than 1,200 female refugees

from Syria that have been trained through an

informal beauty school in Lebanon, learning

blow-drying techniques, basic cutting, hair

dying, make-up and eyebrow threading skills. "I

hold my head high that I know this," said Aya,

who did not want to give her real name for

security reasons.

Lebanon hosts more than 1 million regis-

tered Syrian refugees, a quarter of its popula-

tion. Many have no legal right to work, and fam-

ilies are forced to find other ways to pay for food

and shelter. Aya counts herself lucky, having

escaped the Syrian war and finding a new home

and - eventually - informal work after moving in

2013 to Tyre, a coastal city in southern Lebanon,

a region that hosts more than 117,000 Syrian

refugees.

Half way to her dream

Aya has been running a beauty salon out of

her home for the past six months after complet-

ing a course at the beauty school, set up by aid

agency the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC). It

is a dream come true for the 27-year-old mother

of four. "I feel (that) hair is like a painting you are

drawing ... You have to determine what looks

best on her, what works for her face," she told

the Thomson Reuters Foundation. After moving

to Lebanon Aya wanted to prove herself and

show women are not just there for cooking and

taking care of children. She longed to learn how

to do hair.

"I feel like I am living my dream, but half of

my dream. My bigger dream is that I open a

salon," said Aya with a smile on her face. Her

beauty salon is a modest set-up, with just a plas-

tic chair that she places in the middle of her liv-

ing room armed with her tools by her side - hair

clips, a round brush, comb, and her trusted

hairdryer. She usually gets two to three cus-

tomers a week from the neighborhood, includ-

ing some family and friends.

Even though she does not get much money

from her customers, she is confident her skills

will support her. "I am okay with the little I get ...

what's important to me is it's what I love to do,"

said Aya, who used to work as a seamstress near

the Syrian capital Damascus, a job she did not

enjoy, but the work helped her family. The train-

ing also has given her a sense of independence.

"If God forbid my husband dies, who will take

care of me? No, I will have a job to benefit

myself and my kids, and I wouldn't rely on any-

one," said Aya.

Skills for life

The beauty school is part of the NRC's Youth

Education Pack, (YEP), a program set up current-

ly in 11 centres across Lebanon to help Syrian

and Palestinian refugees.

"The objective of this program is to provide

(them) with the skills they need to use them in

the future ... whether in Lebanon or when they

come back to Syria, or maybe if they want to

travel outside the Middle East," said Aline Sfeir,

education project manager at the NRC.

The free program includes communication

skills, problem-solving skills and English training

as well as beauty skills, barbering for men, basic

mobile phone maintenance and sewing and tai-

loring. Local experts teach the refugees for

around two to three months. When they com-

plete their training they get a certificate and a

blow-dryer or hair straightener.

"When they learn these skills they don't need

a big investment in money to start working in

it," said Sfeir. Aya is also proud that as refugee

she pushed herself to learn new skills even

though her circumstances are difficult. "I want

to show that here in Lebanon yes we migrated,

but we are making our dreams real although it's

little," said Aya. — AP

Syrian refugee finds independence

in Lebanon with hairdryer in hand

W

hether you're an armchair traveler, a road

tripper or a frequent flier, books about

travel can inspire and inform. Here are a

few out this season on a variety of travel themes.

•

"Great American Railroad Journeys." This book

is a tie-in to a BBC series of the same name that

airs on public TV this summer, hosted by

Michael Portillo, who wrote the forward to the

book. In the show, Portillo travels by train

across America from New York and Boston to

Atlanta and New Orleans, then on to Chicago,

Colorado, New Mexico and San Francisco. The

book (Simon & Schuster, $25) consists of essays

about the development and expansion of rail

routes across 19th century North America, with

maps, photos, illustrations and lots of history.

•

"Footsteps." This collection of essays is subti-

tled, "From Ferrante's Naples to Hammett's San

Francisco, Literary Pilgrimages Around the

World." It walks readers in the footsteps of

famous writers, looking at the destinations and

landscapes that inspired them, whether the

familiar locales of their childhood or a trip they

took to a faraway land. Ernest Hemingway's

Madrid, Jamaica Kincaid's Antigua and Mark

Twain's Hawaii are among the places featured

in "Footsteps" (Three Rivers Press, $16).

"Madrid After Dark." This guidebook is subtitled

"A Nocturnal Exploration" (Interlink Books, $15) and

it takes readers on a tour of the Spanish capital

many visitors may never see. Though the city is

known for nightlife and late dinners, author Ben

Stubbs reveals the hidden side of Madrid's night-

time world, from all-night taxi drivers and party-

goers to stories of religious observances and the

lives of the poor. — AP

Travel books, from literary 

pilgrimages to railroads journey

A

nti-fur protesters stormed on stage with Michael Kors in New

York on Wednesday, briefly disrupting a ticketed event at

which the US fashion mogul discussed his career, dressing

Melania Trump and shutting stores. "Michael Kors has blood on his

hands," chanted the more than dozen protesters who marched

through a darkened auditorium at the Metropolitan Museum of Art,

shortly before security ushered Kors out. An audio recording of an

animal squealing, seemingly in pain signaled the start of the four-

minute protest about 13 minutes into the conversation with Kors,

which was being streamed on Facebook

"Animal fur is not in fashion," "animal fur is not compassion,"

chanted the protesters, at least two of whom jumped on stage.

"Shame on all of you for supporting this industry," yelled one man as

the stunned audience sat looking bemused and museum staff did

what they could to escort protesters out as quickly as possible. "Stay

in your seats. We're going to try and resolve this," came the

announcement over the loudspeaker, greeted by cheers and

applause.

Once the protest was over, Kors was treated to a standing ova-

tion after returning to the stage with former CNN journalist Alina

Cho, who was conducting the interview. "You know what, the show

goes on," said Kors.  Known for his laid-back, luxurious, wearable and

quintessentially American silhouette, Kors started his label in 1981

and has dressed  Hollywood actresses, music superstars and first

ladies. Among them is Melania Trump, who wore a tailored Michael

Kors dress to greet Panama's president and first lady on Monday.

While some prominent designers have refused to dress her in

opposition to her husband's politics, Kors said the Slovenian-born

former model had attended his runway shows in the past. "I don't

think it's a political thing," he said. "She's been a client for so long,"

he said. "She looks great," he said simply as a picture of Trump

flashed up on the screen. But while Kors sits atop a global handbag

and apparel empire, the company has said it will close 100 to 125

stores, joining a growing list of retailers who are shutting brick-and-

mortar outlets as e-commerce grabs more market share.

On May 31, the company released fourth quarter results showing

that total revenue had slumped 11.2 percent to $1.06 billion. Asked

about retail headwinds, Kors said "nothing" could ever compete

with the excitement of buying and seeing clothes in person, no mat-

ter how often a modern buyer had seen them online. "The reality

now is sometimes it's really thinking about how all of this works

together, how do you shop online, on your phone, at your laptop, in

the store, how does that all connect?" A household name in the

United States, Kors said he learned about "extravagance" and "indul-

gence" from French women in Paris while working as creative direc-

tor for Celine from 1998-2004. — AFP

Anti-fur protesters disrupt Kors event in New York

This undated image provided by Simon &

Schuster shows the cover of ‘Great American

Railroad Journeys.’

This undated image provided by Crown

Publishing shows the cover of

"Footsteps." — AP photos

Anti-fur protesters rush on the stage while fashion designer Michael Kors

(seated) speaks during ‘The Atelier with Alina Cho: series’ event at the

Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York.  — AFP photos

Fashion designer Michael Kors (left) speaks

with journalist Aline Cho during ‘The Atelier

with Alina Cho: series’ event.

---